Though it was released after Nightmare - Dal profondo della notte (1984), The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 was shot before A Nightmare on Elm Street went into production. Writer-director Wes Craven has claimed that only about two thirds of the movie was shot before the studio halted production due to budget concerns. When A Nightmare on Elm Street became a box office success, the studio convinced Craven to finish Hills Have Eyes Part 2 using only the footage that had already been shot. Since there was not enough for a feature length film, footage from the first Le colline hanno gli occhi (1977) was edited in to pad out the running time. Wes Craven has since disowned the movie.
One of the only films to feature a scene of a dog having a flashback.
Wes Craven claims that he did this film because he was in need of money and since then has disowned it.
Some of the music cues were previously used in another 80s horror film: Friday the 13th. 'Friday' and The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 were both scored by composer Harry Manfredini.